LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Conor Gately dodged past two defensemen and beat the Bellarmine goalie with his shot from just outside the crease two minutes into the first sudden-death overtime period to lift the Marquette men's lacrosse team to a thrilling 9-8 victory over Bellarmine on Tuesday afternoon at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium.

Marquette has now won three straight, including a home win over Detroit on Saturday and a 14-6 triumph at High Point in the team's last road contest on April 13.

Tuesday was most tightly contested matchup of the season thus far for the Golden Eagles (5-6), who led by as many as three goals, in a game that featured three different lead changes and five ties.

Gately's game-winner came with the score knotted at 8-8 after the Knights (7-6) out-scored Marquette 5-2 in the second half. Bellarmine had registered back-to-back goals to open the fourth quarter to grab an 8-7 advantage, but MU's Tyler Melnyk evened it up with a behind-the-back shot with three minutes remaining in regulation.

The two teams traded goals early in as the game as well. Henry Nelson scored with about a minute left in the opening stanza to give Marquette a 4-3 advantage, sparking a 3-0 run by the Golden Eagles to close the first half.

Bellarmine's Michael Ward scored a man-up goal at the 5:30 mark of the first quarter to tie it up at 3-3. Marquette then held the Knights without a goal for the next 20 minutes, including a scoreless second quarter, to go into the locker room at halftime with a 6-3 lead.

Marquette goalie JJ Sagl managed to make nine stops between the pipes with both teams even at 34 shots apiece. Faceoff specialist K.C. Kennedy had a team-high six groundballs, including four groundballs on the first four faceoffs of the game.

Marquette will play its final road contest this Saturday, April 27, at St. John's (Noon CT / 1 p.m. ET), before wrapping up the 2013 season at home on May 5, when the Golden Eagles host nationally-ranked Duke (Noon CT) at Hart Park.